Mixed reviews for anti-racism hearings
Next step must include ‘actual action’ rather than just promises: Iman Bukhari
As Calgarians’ stories and experiences with racism filled council chambers for a third day on Thursday, questions lingered about city council’s process of consulting communities calling for change.
Thursday started with about 80 people still in line to speak, even after council’s community and protective services committee heard from a total of 95 people over the past two days.
Coun. Gian-carlo Carra is co-chairing the meeting with Malinda Smith, the University of Calgary’s vice-provost of equity, diversity and inclusion. Smith said while there’s been criticism about the process, the hearings have been a “master class in systemic racism.”
“Coming out of these hearings, there is no business as usual. We cannot say we do not know. We cannot say it’s the odd case here, the random instance there,” she said.
But as hundreds of people weighed in with personal stories, calls to action and concrete suggestions for Calgary’s road ahead, some also said the city had set up an inadequate forum for people telling traumatic stories.
The meeting included a panel of experts who set context for the discussion on Tuesday. But the public hearing process mostly followed council’s typical approach, with people waiting hours or days to be called to speak. Presenters are supposed to be limited to five minutes, but speakers often ran over time.
Iman Bukhari, founder of the Canadian Cultural Mosaic Foundation, said it was evident the process was “rushed.”
Bukhari said the organization would have preferred a “consultation” rather than the formal hearing that took place, which she felt wasn’t ideal for an effective conversation on systemic racism.
Shuana Porter also said she wasn’t optimistic the hearing would lead to meaningful reforms.
“The setup is not conducive for change. It’s conducive for formality,” said Porter, founder of United Black People Allyship. She added council members reacted defensively to those like her who criticized the process.
“This should have been a hearing where we’re able to talk about certain questions, certain things that we want to see changed, and then have people come and talk about solutions.”
One speaker told council over the phone Wednesday that she had planned to come in person but, after seeing some of the discussion on the first day of the hearing, didn’t feel safe enough to speak in council chambers.
And Thursday, a man showed up to say systemic racism is a “myth.” Smith said the incident showed how even after hundreds gave specific examples of how they’ve experienced racism in their neighbourhoods, workplaces, schools and beyond, people are “emboldened” to deny their stories — and that’s part of the way racism works.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Council set up the hearing after unanimously passing a motion last month that called for the consultation, among other steps, to support anti-racism work.
But, so far, it’s unclear where the city goes from here. Carra said the committee would run late Thursday to finish the public hearing, and council will vote on concrete action at a future meeting.
He said he sees the meeting as “a good start, but not a perfect start.”
“It’s certainly imperfect if it doesn’t lead anywhere meaningful, but I and, I think, my colleagues are committed to getting somewhere meaningful.”
Bukhari said that next step must include “actual action,” rather than just promises.
“They need to look at the data, analyze it, figure out what services are the ones that are most spoken about, make a list,” she said.
“Consistent themes have been police services. That is something that has consistently been brought up and that’s not a surprise.”
Bukhari questioned why the Calgary Police Service hasn’t been more forthcoming about the breakdown of its annual budget, or how often the service responds to calls for wellness checks rather than actual crime.
She said the police need an equity framework to root out systemic racism.
“You’re not just going to make change by having training,” said Bukhari. “Training is helpful, but until you actually have a system — you analyze your system and reorganize it or overhaul it with an anti-racism lens — this is not going to work.”
In a joint statement Thursday evening, police Chief Mark Neufeld along with the heads of the Calgary police commission and two unions representing officers, said they have listened to and absorbed the experiences shared during the council hearings.
“We acknowledge that systemic racism exists in all our institutions and we are committed to taking action,” the statement said. “Every citizen should feel safe and every citizen should be able to trust that police will treat them fairly. Building this trust requires constant, consistent and intentional work.”
The statement said police have recently met with some community advocates but will reach out to Smith and other members of the panel present during the hearings to work on next steps. “We want to thank the community for making recommendations and for their willingness to stay engaged as we work to improve public safety for citizens and enhance confidence in the Calgary Police Service.”